Ajay Chautala fears unfair trial, seeks transfer of DA case

New Delhi: Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Ajay Chautala, who is serving a 10-year jail term in a teachers' recruitment scam case, on Friday told a Delhi court he apprehends that he would not get a fair trial in the disproportionate assets case against him and sought transfer of the matter to another court.

Arguing before District Judge Ravinder Kaur, who is hearing the transfer petition, Ajay's counsel alleged that the evidence was being recorded in "most illegal manner" by permitting the prosecution to put leading questions and the manner in which, the evidence was being recorded reflected the "biasedness of the presiding officer qua the applicant".

District Judge posted the matter for January 18 for hearing further arguments.

Advocate Harsh Sharma, appearing for Ajay, also claimed that the politician apprehended he would not get a fair trial if his case is continued to be tried in the court presided by a special CBI judge, alleging that the presiding officer's conduct was "utmost unfair".

A similar transfer plea of co-accused Abhimanyu Singh is also pending before the district judge.

The court is currently recording evidence in the DA case in which Ajay, son of former Haryana chief minister and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala, is facing trial.

Two other similar cases are pending before it against his brother Abhay and their father. The cases were filed on a complaint by Haryana Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala.

Ajay is serving 10-year imprisonment awarded in January 2013 by another CBI court in the 1999-2000 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers' recruitment scam.

Chautala was also sent to 10 years in jail in the JBT case. The Supreme Court had dismissed the appeals of Chautala and Ajay and had upheld their jail term.

The CBI had chargesheeted Ajay in 2010 indicting him for possessing assets exceeding his legal income by 339.27 per cent. His legal income between May 1993 and May 2006 was Rs 8.17 crore, but had acquired assets worth Rs 27.7 crore, it had alleged.

All the charges have been denied by Chautala and his sons.